Miguel L's profile
Miguel L's latest tasting notes Subscribe
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92
1999
Gruaud Larose
What a pretty wine. Needs 1-2 hours in a decanter, as the 2nd glass was more properly developed. Quite classic and enveloping with St Julien aromas of lead pencil, dark fruit and leather. Medium-full, and long. Tannins smoothed out and integrated on that 2nd hour. Great show. 82 96 and now 99. This house knows how to do it in big and small years.
86
2006
Beckmen - Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Ynez Valley
This is a 75%+ Cabernet Sauvignon wine with syrah added. The result is rich, fruity and even a bit sweet. "Cherry vanilla coke" was one glib descriptor but that is not quite fair given the mission of this wine. It does underscore the impact of blending that even a relatively small proportion of a second grape can substantially impact the final wine. This is a patio wine to be enjoyed young, but it does not deliver the firm acidity and cleansing tannins one often expects in a cabernet-dominant wine. The vines are relatively young, maybe 9-12 years old, so perhaps in future vintages the cabernet structure will assert itself and balance the over-riding richness of the fruit. But again, that may not be the target of the wine makers for this well-made wine. Still, I admire the effort. Sourced from WineAccess, a helpful internet-based retailer
94
2008
Latour
2008 barrel sample @ Chateau. Deeply colored, pooling blue; red rim. Glass streaks and eddying swirls. This is already intense! Big, full bodied with enormous grip & a scaffolding of solid structure. Tannic and drying, austere. Nice long length. Not as balanced as H-B, and not as kid-friendly either. 94% Cabernet Sauvignon, 5% M; 0.75% CF, and 0.25% Petit Verdot. 40% of the harvest, another severely selected wine. A brawny and stubborn wine for En Primeur, not that there's anything wrong with that! Check back in 2020, this one will need the most time of the Firsts to assimilate and uncover the great fruit from the Enclos plots. 92-94 pts.
90
2008
Latour - Les Forts de Latour
2008 barrel sample at chateau. Clean attack, fresh fruit, bright and pronounced acidity, a little unbalanced on the finish at this point but should resolve itself. Tannic. 66.5% CS; 31.5% Merlot, 2% Petit Verdot. 47% of harvest. A step behind Pavillon Rouge for top 2nd wine of the Firsts. 88-90 points.
91
2008
Latour - Pauillac de Latour
2008 barrel sample @ Chateau Latour. Nice Merlot! Good fruit yielded a little dark and thick, casual and almost luscious wine - in comparison to the strict, formal big brothers at the chateau. This is an on-trade wine, released from Latour after 5 years in bottle through 2 negociants, typically between 30-50Euro. 45% CS, 55% M. What the Grand Vin disdained in approachable Merlot accrued to the benefit of this Pauillac. Bodes well for the vines producing these grapes when they mature for use in the #1 down the road. 88-91 points, depending on your tastes. Probably says more about me than the wine that I enjoyed it more than the Forts!
